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* 12/16/2015, Officer William Porter 1st trial ended in mistrial. The jury informed Judge Williams that they were hung on all charges.
On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr., a 25-year-old man, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police alleged was an illegal switchblade knife. While being transported in a police van, Mr. Gray fell into a coma and was taken to hospital. Mr. Gray died on April 19, 2015; his death was listed as injuries to his spinal cord. On April 21, 2015, pending an investigation of the incident, six Baltimore police officers were suspended. Prosecutors stated that they had probable cause to file criminal charges against the six police officers who were believed to be involved in his death. The officer driving the van was charged with second-degree" depraved-heart" murder for his indifference to the considerable risk that Mr. Gray might be killed, and others were charged with crimes ranging from manslaughter to illegal arrest.

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies... By Andy Dufresne/Shawshank Redemption

aryland's highest court on Friday issued a 51-page opinion detailing reasons why they ruled prosecutors are allowed to compel Officer [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] to testify against fellow officers on trial for the arrest and death of [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] in police custody.

In a 7-0 ruling, the judges wrote that prosecutors were correct to compel testimony from Porter by granting him limited immunity. Under the deal, Porter's statements during other officers' trials could not be used against him during his re-trial.

"We hold that the State's compelling Officer Porter to testify in the trials of his fellow officers, under the grant of use and derivative use immunity, does not violate Officer Porter's privilege against compelled self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 22 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights," wrote Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbara.

Porter was the first officer who faced trial in Gray's death last year. After Porter's trial ended in a hung jury, prosecutors have sought to force him to testify in the trials of five other officers — a decision Porter is fighting. His testimony is considered key to prosecutors' cases, legal analysts say.

But the Maryland Court of Appeals — the state's highest court — ruled that Porter can be compelled to testify in the trials of all the other officers."If [Porter's] testimony is not relevant or is otherwise inadmissible, Defendants may object on those bases if and when Officer Porter takes the stand," Barbara wrote.

Friday's detailed opinion explains the court's March order requiring Porter to testify under limited immunity. Porter's first trial ended in a mistrial in December when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any of the four charges against him.

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Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies... By Andy Dufresne/Shawshank Redemption

Two officers charged in the death of [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] are suing Baltimore State's Attorney [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] for defamation and invasion of privacy, court records show.

Sgt. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and Officer [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], who are both facing charges of involuntary manslaughter in the 25-year-old's death last April, filed the lawsuit against Mosby, Baltimore Sheriff's Office Maj. Sam Cogen, and the state of Maryland in Baltimore Circuit Court on May 2, records show.

The officers claim Mosby and Cogen knew the statement of charges filed against the officers and other statements made by Mosby at her May 1, 2015, news conference announcing the charges "were false."

"These among other statements were made not for the purpose of prosecuting crimes that had allegedly been committed by White and Porter, but rather for purposes of quelling the riots in Baltimore," the suit alleges.

The officers had asked that the lawsuit be sealed to "avoid any suggestion" that they were "not complying with the spirit of" a gag order issued in their criminal cases by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, and to "avoid any additional pretrial publicity in connection with their upcoming criminal trials." They said they had to file the lawsuit earlier this month because of statute of limitations concerns.

However, Judge Althea Handy denied the motion to seal the case on Wednesday, saying the officers had "failed to provide a special and compelling reason to preclude or limit inspection of the case record sufficient to overcome the presumption of openness" under Maryland law.

The lawsuit lists the officers' attorney as Michael E. Glass, who could not be reached for comment.

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Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies... By Andy Dufresne/Shawshank Redemption

July 27, 2016 - [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Prosecutors dropped all remaining charges against three Baltimore police officers accused in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray in a downtown courtroom on Wednesday morning, concluding one of the most high-profile criminal cases in Baltimore history.

The startling move was an apparent acknowledgment of the unlikelihood of a conviction following the acquittals of three other officers on similar and more serious charges by Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams, who was expected to preside over the remaining trials as well.

It also means the office of Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby will secure no convictions in the case after more than a year of dogged fighting, against increasingly heavy odds, to hold someone criminally accountable in Gray's death.

Officer William Porter's trial ended with a hung jury and a mistrial in December, before Williams acquitted Officers Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson and Lt. Brian Rice at bench trials in May, June, and July, respectively.

In a hearing Wednesday meant to start the trial of Officer Garrett Miller, Chief Deputy State's Attorney Michael Schatzow told Williams that the state was dropping all charges against Miller, Porter and Sgt. Alicia White.

Porter had been scheduled to be retried in September, and White had been scheduled to be tried in October.

"All of our clients are thrilled with what happened today," said Catherine Flynn, Miller's attorney, outside the courthouse.

The officers still face possible administrative discipline. Internal investigations, with the help of outside police agencies, are underway.

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Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies... By Andy Dufresne/Shawshank Redemption